In recent weeks, if you walk past the corner of Alvarado and 6th, you might notice that there’s a Metro bus bench missing.
Along one of MacArthur Park’s busiest corners near a Metro station, the bench was part of the rhythm of the block.
Now, people still linger in the same spot where the bench used to be. Some wait for the bus standing. Others in wheelchairs stop there to rest. Unhoused residents still gather around the corner and use the shelter’s roof for shade.
The Mayor’s Office confirmed to The LA Local the city removed the bench for repair and maintenance and is expected to return once the streetscape project underway along Alvarado Street is completed.
There is no official timeline for when the beautification work will wrap up, which includes bollards, trees in planters and other cosmetic improvements around MacArthur Park.
Naomi Villagomez Roochnik, communication director for Council District 1, said the bench removal was “coordinated through Metro and related agencies following operational concerns in the area.” She added that their office’s “focus remains on creating public spaces that are safe.”
The Los Angeles Department of Public Works did not respond to requests for comment on why the bench was removed or whether it will be replaced.
For some neighbors, the bench removal arrives with mixed feelings.
Marlene Aldana sells clothing at the storefront “Variedades Aldana” on the same corner. She assumed the city removed the bench because unhoused people often loitered at the bus shelter.
“I thought they removed the bus seat because they’re planning to replace it with something nicer, something better for people who wait for the bus who really need it,” Aldana said, who has worked at the clothing shop for 5 years. “I do think a lot of homeless people would sit there, but I think the mayor needs to bring in a team to fully clean up the area so people can wait in peace.”
While unhoused people used the bench, so did elderly passengers, residents who sat for a moment to catch their breath on their way home from work and young mothers with their children in strollers.
Any improvements would be a welcome change to Aldana, but she also wants the city to consider the people who live and work in the neighborhood. Temporary fencing still up along Alvarado continues to hurt local businesses.
“Right now they say they’re going to remove it, but they don’t want street vendors there, while at the same time they allow homeless people to stay,” she said about the temporary fencing along Alvarado.
At Mac Park Smokes, employee Roman Rhodes has noticed since the bench was removed a couple weeks ago the corner has felt noticeably different.
“There’s not a lot of people hanging around anymore,” Rhodes believes the bench was removed to discourage unhoused people from loitering.
Rhodes understands why some bus riders may want a place to sit while waiting, but from his perspective, the bench wasn’t often used by bus passengers. Instead the bench attracted unhoused people and those struggling with addiction.
“I think they should leave it how it is, no benches, it’s not needed,” he said. “It just gives them more motive to have a reason to hang around here. It sucks for people who want to sit and wait for the bus, but it’s like, what else can you do? It stops them from hanging around, so I guess standing and waiting for the bus for a little while, instead of having a dangerous area to pull into, is more important to me.”
For Silvia Duran, who has lived in Westlake for the past 17 years, the bench’s removal feels more complicated.
“On one hand I think it’s good because it keeps some people away, but on the other hand no, because there are older adults who really do need it to sit,” Duran said in Spanish.
At the same time, she said she often avoided sitting there herself because of tense situations she had witnessed.
“There have been situations where people have been aggressive,” she said. “You have to keep your distance.”
Even so, Duran said she understands why neighbors who regularly use the stop would want the bench back.
Duran added that when she needs to use the bus line that stops at Alvarado and 6th, she prefers to walk to a stop farther away rather than use that one because of those experiences.
